Elyse pov
Tent Forty-Seven was exactly as miserable as I’d expected.
Nine women, ranging from teenagers to the elderly, crammed into a space meant for maybe six. Thin mattresses on the ground; barely more than stuffed sacks. A single lantern provides light. The smell of unwashed bodies and despair.
Home sweet home.
“New girl?” One of the women, maybe thirty, looked up from where she was mending a torn dress. “Find a spot. Anywhere that’s empty.”
I nodded, moving to a corner where a mattress sat unclaimed. It was the thinnest one, stained and probably full of bugs.
I’d slept on worse.
“I’m Elena,” I said quietly, settling onto the mattress.
A few women glanced at me. Most didn’t bother responding. One; a girl not much older than me; gave me a small smile.
“Mira. Welcome to paradis
